Volusia, Flagler students with disabilities pursue passions, careers through work program

DAYTONA BEACH — On a rainy December day, Olivia Cassell couldn't hide her bubbly personality as she shuffled through papers on her desk at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

The 19-year-old works in the patient business and financial services department, where she puts letters in envelopes for patients, scans items into their files and uses a software program to search for information.

She’ll work here for about three months before rotating to another job at the hospital as part of the national Project SEARCH program, a one-year internship where 18- to 22-year-old students with disabilities gain work experience as they transition out of high school. Cassell's previous rotation was in the emergency department.

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“I restocked the nurse station, and I cleaned off the dirty bed and the floor, too,” she said. “I got the trash and restocked the warm blankets for them and the clean linen, too.”

Project SEARCH instructor Patricia Snyder says Cassell loves working in the hospital environment. She wants a permanent job as an emergency room technician when she completes her internship, which she likes because she gets to help people.

“That’s what I came for,” she said.

Cassell is one of eight interns from Volusia County Schools working at the hospital through the program, which started in the district in 2016. Another 13 interns work at Halifax Health’s Port Orange and Deltona locations, which came on as job sites in 2018 and 2020.

There are over 600 Project SEARCH sites worldwide, including 41 across 25 Florida counties, according to material provided by Halifax Health and VCS. Although the program originated at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio in 1996, Florida has the most sites of any state.

Project SEARCH helps students obtain skills, careers

“The skills they’re obtaining are not just so that they can get a job. They have the skills so that they can maintain the job,” Catherine Galotti, coordinator of Volusia's Exceptional Students in Education (ESE) department for students with disabilities said. “That’s amazing, and it's not just a job, though. They're getting careers.”

Other internships at Halifax Health include jobs in the café, health information management, supply and distribution, intensive surgical unit, nutrition and laundry.

Participants must have a need for vocational skills and an individualized education plan, which outlines needs for students with disabilities. The students are in the district’s transition program, meaning they have met graduation requirements but deferred their diplomas to receive transition services and vocational training until they're 22. Other transition students not in the program may split time between their high school and community job sites, such as Publix.

Project SEARCH interns spend an hour in a classroom every morning at the hospital learning vocational skills and soft skills needed for employment, then work the rest of the day, mimicking the immersion they would get at a permanent job.

Galotti says this is ideal because the reality is not that they’ll only work for an hour a day and go home or eat lunch.

"If you don't have the immersion in the workplace — and that's what makes this program so successful — you don't see the reality of what a job is,” Galotti said. “They need to know to build up this stamina because we want our students to be employed at least part time.”

Several Project SEARCH graduates still work at the hospital, and 70% of the 112 graduates since 2016 are gainfully employed, the majority having been hired by Halifax Health to begin their careers. VCS also received national recognition from Project SEARCH for its Port Orange and Deltona sites having a 100% employment rate outcome recently.

“The partnership that VCS has with Halifax Health Medical Centers has made a tremendous impact on the lives of our transition students that elect to participate,” ESE Executive Director Amanda Wiles said in a statement provided to The News-Journal. “I look forward to our continued success in finding students life-long careers that will ensure their success as adults and contributing members of our community.”

Florida's unemployment rate for people with disabilities has decreased significantly over the past several years, according to data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Bureau of Workforce Statistics and Economic Research. The rate has dropped from 16.4% in late 2013 to 4.3% by late 2022, narrowing the gap with the statewide unemployment rate of 2.6%.

The rate of participation in the labor force for people with disabilities in Florida also increased from 15.7% to 18.6% in that time.

Volusia students are 'wonderful,' 'dedicated' interns at Halifax Health

Like Cassell, other Project SEARCH interns plan to start careers after the program, including 21-year-old Ember Dubea, who works in the hospital café.

“I sweep, I clean, I stock. I clean tables. I clean the window sills,” she said.

Dubea enjoys working with people and talking about work skills. She wants to work in the café and part-time at Ulta Beauty when she completes her internship.

Malachi Boyer, 19, dreams of being a chef. His first rotation was in the dietary department, where he made sandwiches and cookies. He now works in the supply, processing and distribution department, where he reads supply orders, picks items off shelves and stocks carts to send up to other departments. He enjoys how “organized and perfect” the department is.

“This requires a lot of attention to detail, a lot of focus,” instructor Snyder said. “(It’s a) very organized, very structured environment, so he does excellent in this department.”

Galotti says the program has such an impact on students that parents will not recognize them because of the self-confidence and motivation they’ve gained.

“We tell the parents, the first day that they enter, remember that because the last day before they graduate, the summation, they’re a completely different person,” she said.

Kimberly Fulcher, Halifax Health’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer, said the students are “wonderful.”

"They're very dedicated, they show up early, they hardly ever miss,” she said. “Some of them, they take the bus, they take Votran to work. They're amazing employees.”

CEO and president Jeff Feasel agreed the Project SEARCH interns are some of the most prompt, friendly and loyal employees, and that it's part of Halifax Health's mission to "provide access," whether to health care or employment.

“Everybody that comes to work, we take a chance on, and these young adults are no different,” he said. “They deserve an opportunity to show what they can do and show that they’re responsible, dedicated individuals, and that’s what we need in this environment.”

Flagler interns are immersed in jobs at Palm Coast senior living community

In Flagler County, several more Project SEARCH interns are at work at Grand Villa of Palm Coast, a senior living community.

Nadia Adkins, 20, has started her second rotation in housekeeping, where mentor Shekela Johnson teaches her how to dust the blinds. She also sweeps, mops and cleans the bathroom.

“I like being a housekeeping assistant. I like being in housekeeping. I think it’s fun. I like to sweep, and I have some experiences from home, so I’m learning new skills,” Adkins said. “I like trying out different things, like I like using this (duster), for example, because it makes it easier for me, and I can reach the high places because I’m short.”

She also enjoys talking to the employees, residents and guests, whom she enthusiastically greets. Her first rotation was as a dining assistant pouring drinks, cleaning tables and filling condiments.

“Sometimes when I see (the residents), I say ‘good morning’ and then I make sure not to be rude, like when they’re finished with their dirty dishes, for example, I'm like, ‘Is it OK if I take this for you?’“ she said. “Because it would be rude to just take it without asking.”

Adkins says her dream job is to be a baker, and she wants to work at Publix as a bagger or in the bakery after Project SEARCH.

The program in Flagler Schools started five years ago and has had several interns each year working in areas like maintenance, dish washing, memory care, activities, kitchen preparation and serving.

Each intern has at least one employee who acts as a mentor, as well as Project SEARCH instructor Jill Kulwicki and skills trainer Amie Smith from Progressive Abilities Support Services, a company that provides inclusive employment services, on site each day.

'It's the most simulated you can be for a job'

"Truly, for us, the importance is to teach them work ethic and job skills so that when they leave the program that they can find competitive employment within our community that matches their interests and their skill set,” Kulwicki said.

The interns participate in a 30-minute staff meeting every morning and spend an hour in the afternoon learning functional academics like budgeting and shopping. They also clock in and out and get themselves to work via public transportation or other means.

“It's the most simulated you can be for a job, and so they learn not only the job skills, they're learning how to be a team player and to work with other people, and some of them have never done that before,” Smith said. “They’re learning communication with other people in a professional way whereas if they're in school, it's not that way.”

Lauren Marshall, transition specialist for Flagler Schools, said that in high school and other transition programs, the students may only work two hours a day or observe job sites rather than work hands-on.

“Coming here puts them in that hands-on experience, and they have that direct support from a mentor, so it teaches them all the other wor- ethic skills that are on the job,” she said.

She also noted the young people love talking to the residents in the community and remind them of their grandchildren or other family members.

The senior living community, formerly known as Princeton Village, has hired nine interns since the program started, and four are still there.

Students work in food services, maintenance, memory care and more

Michael Alexander, a Project SEARCH graduate, was hired in food services and has worked there for nearly four years. He hopes to eventually work with animals, especially reptiles, but says the program and other district offerings helped build his confidence and independence, as he bikes to work each day and is working on managing his money.

“I was kind of shy, didn't want to ask people things because I’m shy. I still am, but I’m more open,” he said.

Michael Hendricks, 19, is a current intern in maintenance. He wants to go into lawn care after he graduates and also appreciates the independence he’s developing.

“I pressure wash and clean carpets,” he said while stocking supplies. “It's kind of fun. I get time to be by myself for a little bit.”

Nearby, 20-year-old Antonio Byrd Jr. was working in the memory care unit baking cookies for the residents. He previously worked in dishwashing, which he wants to do after the program.

“It's really, really great,” he said of the internship. “I like to wash the tables and chairs and sweep and dust the floor.”

Transition programs provide full range of vocational skills

Kim Halliday, the ESE director for Flagler Schools, said interns are typically in their last year of education before they turn 22, but can participate in the program any time during their transition years if they require supported employment but are relatively independent.

Aside from Project SEARCH, Flagler’s transitional students can also participate in the STREAM program for pre-employment training and learning life skills while on campus and the TRAIL Transitions program for community-based instruction, functional academics and vocational training.

“We've got a variety of vocational options for our young people, but even our young people with the most significant disabilities, we may be on the same path as a student who is neurotypical but we need a little bit more time,” Halliday said. “Our young people are capable of that same kind of work. They just may need a little bit more training, so having transition programs allows for that.”

Flagler Schools has around 50 transition students, and several participate in Project SEARCH each year. Halliday says the interns and their families love the program, and the fact that Grand Villa hires many is a testament to its success.

“We're preparing them for life, preparing them for employment and we're preparing them to be active contributors to Flagler County," Halliday said. "That's our goal."

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia, Flagler students with disabilities gain onsite work training